According to a recent report from The Daily Mirror’s Live Blog (09/08, 05:31), Rangers are interested in a loan move for striker Dominic Solanke. The 20-year-old currently plays his football at Premier League giants Liverpool and has done so since making the move from Chelsea 12 months ago, although the forward unsurprisingly found it difficult to dispose the likes of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, and Mohamed Salah in Jurgen Klopp’s team last season. 

And while the English transfer window shut at 5pm on Thursday, the Scottish one remains open, and as such Rangers are reportedly keen on luring the £9 million-rated striker (as per Transfermarkt) to Ibrox, in a move which would complete the club’s best summer in many a year.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, the Gers have been in a state of disarray for a number of years now under the stewardship of Mark Warburton and Pedro Caixinha, and while Graeme Murty somewhat steadied the ship in the second half of last season, he was never likely to be the long-term option.

And while Gerrard’s appointment over the summer was met with huge enthusiasm, several Rangers fans knew that he needed backing to become a success north of the border, and thus for that optimism to bear fruit.

And it has so far been an outstanding summer at Ibrox with no fewer than 11 faces through the door, ranging from the experienced Allan McGregor and Scott Arfield to the exciting Ovie Ejaria and Ryan Kent – the Light Blues have performed remarkably well.

Add in the fact that they kept hold of right back James Tavernier beyond the English deadline amid interest from West Brom, and Rangers have enjoyed an excellent summer – the possible arrival of Solanke would make it their best in many a year.

The 20-year-old made the move to Liverpool last summer after struggling for regular football at Chelsea, yet he has experienced the same difficulties at Anfield in mustering just 27 appearances for the Reds, of which only six have been starts.

In fact, it took Solanke until the final day of last season to register his first goal for Klopp’s side, but those struggles shouldn’t detract from a player with immense potential to become a quality forward.

The one-time England international is strong and has a big presence aerially, at the same time showing a quick turn of pace for someone six foot two – and with seven goals on loan at Vitesse in the 2015/16 season, he knows where the back of the net is as well.

And making the move to the Scottish Premiership could be exactly what he needs to kick-start his career, at the same he could be exactly what Gerrard needs to add further quality to his strike force, and thus take the weight off of Alfredo Morelos, one of just two men (the other being Josh Windass who left on Thursday) who reached double figures last season.

As such, with Rangers reportedly keen on the Liverpool striker, adding him to their squad before the August 31 deadline would round off the Gers’ best summer in many a year.

Rangers fans… what do you think? Let us know!

Leeds spent a measly £10.17 million in the transfer window over the summer, only bringing in five new players.

Arguably one of the best buys of the summer, the Yorkshire club brought in Barry Douglas from Wolves for £3.06 million and then splashed out on Patrick Bamford to provide cover up front should Kemar Roofe get injured.

At the back however, the club didn’t bring in any new recruits, instead deciding to stick with fan favourite Gaetano Berardi and Liam Cooper as the starting pair.

Bielsa does have Pontus Jansson and Conor Shaughnessy at the back too but as it stands, there are only three out and out defenders on the books and Leeds could do with dipping into the loan market to bring in some added depth.

With that in mind, Football.London via Todo Mercado Web s reporting that Leeds are interested in bringing in Tottenham Hotspur defender Juan Foyth.

The Breakdown

In what could prove to be a wise move, Leeds decided not to overspend on a defender on deadline day.

A loan deal at this stage seems like it could be an astute piece of business and with Mauricio Pochettino’s links to Marcelo Bielsa, it could well happen.

Highly rated when he made his £8 million move to Spurs last year from Estudiantes, Foyth made five appearances in the FA Cup, one in the Champions League and two in the League Cup.

With Vertonghen, Sanchez, Alderweireld and Dier ahead of him in the pecking order, a loan move to Leeds could prove vital for Foyth.

What do you think about this Leeds fans?

According to the BBC, Championship side Swansea are close to securing a loan deal for Tottenham defender Cameron Carter-Vickers. 

This was a player that was unlikely to feature much under Mauricio Pochettino this season, so has wisely chosen to ply his trade elsewhere. Playing for promotion hopefuls Swansea is a great move for the 20-year-old.

This will be the third loan spell for Carter-Vickers (valued at 900k on Transfermarkt.co.uk), after spending last season at Ipswich and Sheffield United. But the question will begin to arise about the defender of whether he will ever break into the first team in north London.

This has happened to a number of promising players for The Lilywhites over the past few years. This happened to Tom Carroll and Alex Pritchard to name two; players that never made the grade, were loaned out continuously before being sold eventually. To a lesser extent this happened to the likes of Andros Townsend and Steven Caulker; players that featured a bit but didn’t make the cut in the end.

This is in no way saying that Carter-Vickers is going the same way as those players, he may still have a bright future at Tottenham. But for now it appears that he will continue to be loaned out. The fact that Pochettino has decided to keep hold of fellow 20-year-old Juan Foyth suggests the young Argentinian is held in higher regard than the American international.

So it seems like Carter-Vickers is in a state of limbo, where it is unclear whether he will make the grade at Tottenham. Although he is young, Dávinson Sánchez was almost the same age as him when he started playing regular football for The Lilywhites last year, Dele Alli was even younger.

Ultimately, there isn’t much point in loaning Carter-Vickers to about four different Championship clubs for the next four years. It’s a case of Pochettino making a decision about his player’s future as soon as possible, for the sake of his career.

According to The Birmingham Mail, by way of KickOff, Nottingham Forest have been linked with Wolves midfielder Romain Saïss. 

Forest have recruited heavily this summer as new manager Aitor Karanka hopes to build a squad worthy of promotion. With less than ten days to secure a loan signing in the Championship, signing Saïss (valued at £5.4m on Transfermarkt.co.uk) would conclude a solid summer’s spending for The Reds.

Forest have bolstered their defensive midfield successfully this summer, re-signing Adlène Guedioura and securing Jack Colback on loan from Newcastle. But Saïss would undoubtedly add to this quality in the midfield.

Guedioura has had a good start to the season for Forest, and may be hard to wrestle a starting shirt from, but Colback’s position would definitely be threatened. With a player like the 6ft3 Moroccan breathing down your neck, it would improve performances.

Saïss has not featured for Wolves this season in the Premier League, but was a mainstay at Molineux last season as The Wanderers dominated the Championship. Bringing that title-winning mentality to The City Ground may prove vital to Karanka’s men this season.

Forest currently sit in eighth place in the Championship after an acceptable start to the season. However, Karanka will certainly want his side to quickly shoot up the table, and Saïss may be the catalyst to do so. He will also hope the Moroccan will be able to shore up his side’s defence, as Forest have only kept one clean sheet this season.

Forest host struggling Birmingham this Saturday, and while it may be too early for Saïss to feature if he signs, he would still have a major say in Forest’s season.

There is a lot of uncertainty at Celtic right now with both the futures of Moussa Dembele and Dedryck Boyata in doubt. 

However, one player who looks set to to extend his stay at Celtic Park is Olivier Ntcham.

Manager Brendan Rodgers confirmed to the media that Ntcham is in talks over a new deal (via the Scottish Sun) with Celtic unwilling to part ways with the Frenchman amid interest from Porto.

Ntcham putting pen to paper on a new contract can only be seen as good news with the 22-year-old having become a key member of Rodgers’ squad since arriving in Glasgow from Manchester City last summer.

Ntcham’s contract situation, though, will not be enough to ease the fears of Celtic supporters who have been left worried with the club’s handling of Dembele and Boyata.

With Boyata having seemingly made it clear for some time that he wants out of Celtic Park either now or in the near future, there was the expectation that an adequate successor to the Belgian would have been brought in.

And, while there is obviously still time for that to materialise, leaving things this late in the transfer window is criminal, especially considering how early Celtic’s season starts compared to most other teams.

The arrival of a new central defender — who would have come in for the absent Boyata — could have made a huge difference in Celtic’s Champions League clash with AEK Athens.

Meanwhile, the decision to consider the possible sale of Dembele with little time left in the transfer window is also insane from the Celtic board’s point of view.

Finding a replacement for the Frenchman is one thing, but doing so with deadline day virtually here will be almost impossible.

With all of the above in mind, while also considering the club’s elimination from the Champions League, Celtic supporters will only continue to ask questions of Peter Lawwell and co — and rightly so.

Ligue 1 outfit Rennes are in discussions to sign Tottenham Hotspur flop Georges-Kevin N’Koudou, according to Sky Sports.

What’s the word?

Tottenham Hotspur fans endured a quiet transfer window, with Mauricio Pochettino’s side not making any signings during the course of the summer, but the lack of activity has not affected the Lilywhites on the field as they boast a 100% record from their opening three Premier League matches.

Amidst all the celebrations on the field, Spurs have work to do behind the scenes as their rejuvenation of White Hart Lane has been delayed and the squad also still has players within the ranks that are surplus to requirements – including Georges-Kevin N’Koudou.

Thankfully, it appears that Spurs could see a departure of the flop before the European transfer window closes later today as Sky Sports state that Ligue 1 side Stade Rennais are in discussions with the North London side regarding the player’s services.

It is not clear whether a deal will be permanent or on loan, potentially with an option to buy, but Spurs could finally get the 23-year-old off their books.

Stick or twist?

Signed in 2016 from Marseille, N’Koudou has failed to make an impact as he has accumulated just nine Premier League appearances in the two seasons since and failed to grasp his chance on loan with Burnley during the second half of last year.

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Signed for £9m two years ago, N’Koudou goes down as one of the worst signings of Mauricio Pochettino’s spell in North London and Spurs will be desperate to get the former France U21 international off their books.

Whether a deal is permanent or on loan is largely irrelevant, as Spurs should take whatever offer comes their way for a player who has not managed to score a single league goal during his time in English football.

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Stuart Dallas has been part of the Leeds United fold since 2015 when he signed from Brentford, but he has not always had a regular spot in the team.

This season, for example, the winger has played in just two Championship matches for Marcelo Bielsa.

On the international stage, though, he is a long-standing member of the Northern Ireland setup having earned 29 caps for his country.

On Saturday, the 27-year-old started against Bosnia in a Nations League match, but it was a disappointing day as Ireland were beaten 2-1.

Will Grigg managed to get on the scoresheet, but it was deep into injury time, therefore Michael O’Neill’s side were unable to challenge the scoreline.

Even though Northern Ireland were on the losing side, it was a positive individual performance from Dallas, who started on the wing of a three-pronged attack.

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On Twitter, some Leeds fans praised their player, with many hoping that he can carry that form with him to club level.

Loads of Leeds fans have been reacting to some horrific injury news from League One, as Eunan O’Kane suffered a suspected broken leg on Saturday.

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Leeds fans were relieved when O’Kane left the club late in the transfer window, as the Irish international was one of the main scapegoats for last season’s meltdown.

The 28 year-old is now on loan with Luton Town, but left the Hatters’ win over Bristol Rovers on Saturday in the 88th minute.

The club have since tweeted that the injury is a suspected broken leg, and the majority of Leeds fans are sending their best wishes.

O’Kane was part of the midfield that was simply overrun in the second half of last season, and he does not have the technical quality to be part of a Marcelo Bielsa side.

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He is certainly good enough to be a superstar in League One though, and the majority of fans are gutted to hear about his injury.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Arsenal have had a fairly average start to the Premier League season so far this year.

New boss Unai Emery would’ve hoped for an easier start to his Arsenal tenure but instead was handed two incredibly tough games against Chelsea and Man City. The Gunners lost both of those games but managed to follow those losses with wins against West Ham and Cardiff City, although against the latter they made it very hard for themselves.

One of the star performers so far for Emery has been 19-year-old midfielder Matteo Guendouzi, who was incredibly impressive against Chelsea and City. The Frenchman was the second midfielder to arrive over the summer as the Gunners also brought in the impressive Lucas Torreira.

With those two arrivals, the pressure has increased on the inconsistent Granit Xhaka, who according to the Sun, could be about to have another competitor for his spot in the form of Hector Herrera.

The Breakdown

The Mexican midfielder is out of contract next summer and is expected to leave Portugal after five years at Porto.

The combative midfielder has been a constant presence for both Porto and Mexico and considering that he’ll be a free agent, it could be a shrewd piece of business from Arsenal.

Xhaka hasn’t been poor this year but since his arrival in the Arsenal team, he hasn’t quite lived up to expectations. Moreover, with Aaron Ramsey stalling on a new deal, Arsenal could well do with some midfield depth if the Welshman leaves.

Arsenal fans what do you think? 

Arsenal have made Sevilla’s Ever Banega their January priority following the departure of Ivan Gazidis, according to The Sun.

What’s the word?

Further changes are afoot for Arsenal after it was confirmed that chief executive Ivan Gazidis is leaving for AC Milan, which led to the Gunners to promote former Barcelona transfer guru Raul Sanllehi to a head of football role.

According to The Sun, Sanllehi’s first priority in the January window is to reunite Unai Emery with Sevilla midfielder Ever Banega, a player the Spanish boss worked with during his years of success with the Andalusian side.

30-year-old Banega is being targeted to provide further competition to Arsenal’s midfield and additional creativity from a deep role with Mesut Ozil’s form being inconsistent and Aaron Ramsey’s future being shrouded in doubt, potentially seeing the Wales international leave on a free transfer next summer.

Where would he fit?

At his age, Banega is certainly not a long-term solution to any midfield woes that Emery faces but the addition of his experience and talent could spark a new lease of life into an Arsenal side that has been shaky at the start of the season.

Banega would slot into midfield to compete with the likes of Matteo Guendouzi, Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka for starting opportunities in the heart of Emery’s side, while his creativity could create the link between defence and attack.

Emery is attempting to install a specific style of play into his Arsenal side that sees the Gunners start attacks from the back but his team has so far lacked the drive from midfield, although Torreira’s introduction off the bench against Newcastle provided that spark.

Should he be signed?

Rated as worth £10.8m by TransferMarkt, Arsenal should only sign the veteran midfielder if Sevilla negotiates a fair price for the Argentina international as the Gunners cannot afford to pay over the odds for a player of his age.

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The issue is that Sevilla will likely want to retain the services of a player who has featured in all of their four LaLiga matches so far this season and one who always has the capability to catch the eye, as shown by his two assists in three World Cup appearances in the summer.

However, if it becomes clear that Ramsey will not extend his stay at the Emirates Stadium then Arsenal should go all-out to bring Banega to North London to ease the midfield transition that would follow the exit of the Wales ace.

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